Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1 Words that are Too Hot 15
1 John Lewis on the March on Washington, August 1963: Ensuring That Multiple Speeches Fit the Moment 17
2 Wamsutta Frank James on the 350th Anniversary of the Pilgrims Landing at Plymouth Rock, September 1970: The Five Elements Found in Every Persuasive Speech 39
Part 2 A Change of Mind, a Change of Heart 51
3 Emma Goldman at Her Sentencing, October 1893, and Helen Keller at the Suffrage Parade, March 1913: The Power of Speech to Move People to Action 53
4 President Richard Nixon's Refusal to Resign, August 1974: The Precarious Position of the Speechwriter 71
5 Mayor Kevin White on School Busing, December 1974: The Rhetorical Technique of Litany 87
Part 3 Crisis / Crisis Averted 105
6 Edward VIII's Refusal to Abdicate the Throne, December 1936: Writing for Public Figures About Their Private Lives 107
7 New York City Mayor Abe Beame Declares Bankruptcy, October 1975: The Risks and Rewards of Sherman Statements 127
Part 4 The Fog of War, the Path to Peace 141
8 Dwight Eisenhower's Apology for the Failure of the D-Day Invasion, June 1944: The Language of Leadership 143
9 Emperor Hirohito Apologizes for World War II, 1948: Dog Whistles, Chameleons, and Apologies 153
10 President Kennedy on the Military Operation That Destroyed the Nuclear Weapons Buildup in Cuba, October 1962: The Mysteries of Speech Authorship 173
Part 5 The People Choose 189
11 Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld's Farewell Address Following His Defeat in the 1896 Election, January 1897: The Value of a Soundbite 193
12 Hillary Clinton's 2016 Victory Speech, Why We Venerate the Ritual of Concession 205
Part 6 Events Intervene 227
13 The Remarks Condoleezza Rice Had Intended to Give on the Bush Administration's Foreign Policy September 11, 2001: The Process of Constructing a Speech 231
14 Barry Jenkins's Best Picture Remarks for Moonlight, February 2017: The Power of Story 243
15 Last Words: Pope Pius XI, JFK, FDR, Einstein, and Their Unfinished Prophecies of Peace, Various Years 255
Appendix: Selected Undelivered Speech Texts 273
Wamsutta James Remarks, to Have Been Delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, September 1970 273
Boston Mayor Kevin White's Remarks on Busing, to Have Been Delivered as Part of His State of the City Speech, December 1974 277
John F. Kennedy's Remarks Announcing Airstrikes on Cuba, to Have Been Delivered in October 1962 280
John P. Altgeld's Retiring Address as Governor of Illinois, to Have Been Delivered on January 11, 1897 285
Hillary Clinton's Election Night Remarks, to Have Been Delivered on November 8, 2016 288
John F. Kennedy's Remarks at the Dallas Trade Mart, to Have Been Delivered on November 22, 1963 294
Acknowledgments 301
Bibliography 307
Notes 337